The Annual Student Art Exhibition at GCC is designed for students to enjoy some quiet and relaxing time away from their hectic schedule. The art gallery is located next to the school’s library, and the exhibition is going on until June 4. The exhibit features selected artwork by GCC students.
“Students came and filled [out] applications, and entered a video of their artwork with it,” said gallery greeter, Linette Karimmasihi, who won first place for her “Untitled” art piece.
“The judges decide what is accepted or not accepted and puts it on the wall for a month.”
Students pay a $2 entry fee, and prizes are given to students whose artwork wins. Some of the prizes include certificates from the GCC Bookstore and art stores like Swains. The student artwork that is submitted to the gallery by the students displays not only original creativity and talent, but also a variety of culture and taste.
“There are approximately 200 submitted artworks, and approximately 81 artworks in the gallery,” said Annabelle Aylmer, who is in charge of the gallery art display at GCC. “Twenty-three people won.” Categories included ceramics, design I, drawing I, 3-d drawing, photo I, and advanced ceramics, printmaking, drawing, painting, photo, and sculpture. Almost all of the artworks on display are bold and colorful, featuring great detail as well. There are 10 first place winners, 8 second place winner, 5 honorable mentions. A reception took place on Sunday with the artists themselves present.
As the onlooker enters the gallery, the first bold artwork that he or she may see first is “Woman,” by first-place winner Kynughee Lee. The painting is large and bright, and very abstract.
“The painting is abstract expressionism,” said Lee, who was overjoyed at her first place prize. “You cannot realize it’s a woman’s body.” It took her three days to oil paint the symbolic painting.
Shiyoon Kim also won first place for his “Untitled” drawing of a Tarzan-looking man, which was drawn in charcoal. “My inspiration is people around me,” said Kim. “I capture what’s inside a model.” Kim’s greatest inspiration for his drawing was a model posing in his drawing class.
Angelo Vilar won second place for his “Pastel Ladies” drawing. The drawing was made from black, white, and red pastel pencils, and depicts a nude woman, with a serious expression on her face.
“My inspiration was a model from my life drawing class,” said Vilar, who is motivated to reach greater success than what he has achieved so far. “My inspiration is to think past this artwork. This is an ongoing process, and I can use this artwork as toilet paper.”
Peter Wang also won second place, but instead of a painting, his “Double Walled Vessel” was a ceramics artwork. His vase is light aquamarine, with a very complex design. “My primary inspiration has been my love for math,” said Wang. “I tried to incorporate math themes in ceramics.” He achieved his creation by drawing the sketch on his computer, printing it, and wrapping it on his wet ceramic mold, before tracing and cutting it.
Honorable mention winner, Elvira Hovhannisyan’s “Anna,” is a striking portrait, realistic and very serene looking. “This is a painting of my daughter,” said Hovhannisyan. “It is an oil painting.” Christopher Yap’s “Untitled” photo of large tree branches being hit by the sun’s shade is also very unique. “I took the photo in the fall,” said Yap. “It’s my favorite season.”
Certainly, the quality and creativity of GCC’s talented art students are limitless. The art gallery is?an educational and recreational?place to visit to explore the many forms of artwork, which are created by GCC’s very own students.